


Redefine

by Y_ellow



Category: Naruto
Genre: Exposition, Gen, Pre-Slash, Universe Alteration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-27
Updated: 2014-07-27
Packaged: 2018-02-10 15:49:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2030868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Y_ellow/pseuds/Y_ellow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kakashi was starting to think that the whole thing hadn’t been such a great idea, after all.</p><p><b>Contains:</b> Kakashi-centric; A bit of fluff, but it shouldn’t be too bad. Turned out as pre-slash rather than slash. </p><p><b>Prompt/Scenario:</b> #6 by Aviss: Role Reversal. Kakashi makes an ill-advised comment about how easy some people has it and suddenly he finds himself having to teach an entire class of pre-gennin. It can be established relationship or first time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Redefine

**Author's Note:**

> I channelled my inner Kakashi too much, and as a result late fic is late. At least he’s IC? (I hope.) Giant thank you to the mods for putting up with me!

Kakashi absentmindedly scratched the skin below his uncovered eye, where the handkerchief rested against his face. It wasn’t that it was uncomfortable, per se, but the material was different than that of his usual mask, and really stood out. Such was the price to pay for the heightened senses of a jounin.

The nurses had already confiscated the field shirt with a mask portion Kakashi had gotten Raidou to bring him, on account of it aggravating his injuries. Raidou had been soundly cowed by their vehemence and wasn’t likely to go against them in any way, but Kakashi hoped the scarred man might be convinced to fetch a smaller, nurse-approved one instead. The one Genma had gotten Kakashi for his birthday, as unflattering as it was ( _hot pink with sparkles_ ) would do well enough for a simple stay in the hospital. The few people who would bother visiting him had very little respect left to lose, in any case.

“Are you listening to me, Kakashi-senpai?” Tenzou asked, exasperation plain for all to hear. 

“Not really.” Kakashi answered honestly, keeping his eye closed. He could picture his cute little kohai perfectly well without shifting from his comfortable slump, harried frown and all. Being permanently assigned to a hospital room definitely had its perks, and a comfortable bed was at the top of the list. 

“I’ll leave you to your thoughts, then.” Tenzou said, with a sigh. Kakashi hummed in response, seeing no reason to make Tenzou stay any longer than he already had. It couldn’t be healthy to spend one's well-earned down time in a hospital without being injured in the first place.

The sound of a chair being pushed back made Kakashi twitch. 

Any shinobi worth his salt should reflexively remain as silent as possible, especially in such a public place as a hospital. As a former member of ROOT, Tenzo should have had more incentive than most to do so. Kakashi would need to organize a training session to address the issue, when he was finally cleared for duty. Or maybe Gai could do it. His brutal training regimens would have Tenzou back into shape in no time, with the added benefit of keeping the spandex-clad man too occupied to challenge Kakashi. A brilliant plan, really. 

(Of course, it was quite probable that Tenzou was only making so much noise as a courtesy towards Kakashi, who hadn’t opened his eye once since the start of their mostly-one-sided conversation. But that would mean that Kakashi had no reason to torment his friends with training sessions, and was no fun.)

But all that would have to wait for Tenzou to return from his next mission, whenever that would be. An ANBU squad with as much field experience as theirs was far too valuable to simply laze about the village while their Captain healed. 

“Tenzou.” Kakashi said, as light footsteps moved away from his bedside and towards the door.

“Sempai?”

“Be careful.”

It shouldn’t need to be said, but Kakashi worried endlessly when his teammates were out in the field without him, especially on ANBU missions. 

The click of the door closing was his only answer, and the only one necessary, really. 

Kakashi smiled beneath the handkerchief, and settled in for a nice nap. After all, if he couldn’t leave the bed then he might as well put it to good use by catching up on the many hours of sleep he had missed recently. 

His team would be just fine. And when they returned, he’d have an adequate training regimen all planned out.

.:.

Kakashi was discharged from the hospital a month to the day after his admittance, with instructions to present himself to the Sandaime at his earliest convenience.

Ordinarily, Kakashi might have taken that to mean that he could stop by his apartment for a nice soak and a change of clothes, maybe buy a new book and stop by the memorial stone for a few hours. But after a month of inaction, he was restless enough to hury. 

If the Hokage wanted to see him so soon after the S-class mission that had landed him in the hospital in the first place then it must be important. Or at the very least, interesting. 

Kakashi made time for a quick shower, dressed, and headed towards the Hokage’s office via the rooftops. He arrived a mere hour after the missive had been received; landing lightly on the windowsill, and entering the office proper only once the man within had given him a slight nod. Even he wasn’t rude enough to barge in unannounced.

Kakashi crouched in the customary salute, and waited for the Hokage to finish his paperwork and acknowledge him. He only had to wait a few minutes before the elderly man set his documents aside and spoke, without mincing words.

“I want you to step down from your position as Captain of Delta Squad.”

Kakashi’s surprise was so great that he couldn’t help but to stumble forward slightly. He took a deep breath to compose himself before speaking through clenched teeth, to avoid saying anything he shouldn’t. Raving about how undeserving of a demotion he was would get him nowhere. 

“Has my performance been unsatisfactory?” 

Kakashi wracked his brain for any failures or serious mistakes he might have committed lately, trying to think of the reason for the Hokage’s decision. 

The Hokage smiled slightly, aged face crinkling with what could very well be called fondness. 

“Quite the contrary, as you well know. Your squad has some of the best results. No, this has very little to do with your abilities. Recent developments have given me reason for concern.” 

“You’re referring to the Uchiha Massacre.” 

Of course it would be that. Even now, nearly half a year after the event, and Kakashi couldn’t seem to forget the stench of blood. The sight of over two hundred people, shinobi and civilians alike, killed by one of their very own in their homes, in the one place they should have been able to call _safe_ , was not something he would forget in a hurry. 

It was difficult to grasp that Itachi, as a previous member of Kakashi’s squad; could do something so dreadful without a care for consequences. And the state his younger brother, sole surviving member of the Uchiha clan, had been found in… 

“Correct. I fear that the pressure of being an ANBU Captain so young is what caused Itachi-kun to do what he did. That is a hardship you have shared. I have been given reasons lately, to think that you have finally reached your limit. You need a change of pace, Kakashi, at the very least.”

“I assure you, Hokage-sama, nothing could possible cause my loyalty to Konoha to falter.”

That anything could turn him away from the village so many of his precious people had die to protect was unthinkable, outrageous even. Konoha was his _home_. 

“I don’t doubt that,” said the Hokage, not unkindly. “And yet, I am concerned. Tell me, Kakashi-kun, how long have you been in ANBU?” 

“A decade Hokage-sama.” Kakashi answered promptly, a smidge confused about the abrupt change of topic. 

“And a Captain?”

“Nearly nine years.”

“You are aware of the typical life expectancy of ANBU Black Ops member, I’m sure?”

“Six years for regular members, three for ROOT, and eight for captains.” Kakashi answered curtly, finally understanding where the Hokage was directing the conversation and not liking it in the least.

“With your four years spent in ROOT, and the nine years as a captain, you’ve already passed that. For every year that you surpassed the average, you’re chances of survival go down nearly twelve percent. You are an important asset of this village, Kakashi-kun, and I will not have you throwing away your life for nothing.”

“With all due respect, Hokage-sama, the importance of ANBU-“

“Is something that I understand very well. But that work can be done by others. You’ve done enough, Kakashi. It’s time for you to move on.”

Kakashi let his shoulders slum slightly in defeat, knowing better than to argue with the Sandaime when he had that particular gleam in his eyes, when he had steel in his voice. 

“You have something in mind?” he asked instead, knowing full well that the Hokage was not the sort of man who would make such an important decision on a whim, no matter how spontaneous it might seem to others. 

“I do. I want you to become a Jounin-sensei.”

“I do not believe myself to be suited to such a role.” Kakashi said after a moment of bewildered silence, choosing his words carefully. How the Hokage could decide something so strange, and announce it with such serenity, Kakashi would never understand. 

“Perhaps, but you will be needed to fill it soon enough, regardless of personal feelings.”

“The last Uchiha.”

Months later and the consequences of a single act could still be felt throughout the village in the form of overworked shinobi and abundant petty crimes without the police force the Uchiha clan had manned almost single handedly. This was just one more such consequences Kakashi reminded himself, one more sin to place at Itachi’s feet. 

“Precisely. You are the only other loyal Konoha shinobi with a Sharingan now. Sasuke-kun will need a teacher.”

Kakashi nodded in acknowledgement, but understanding was not the same as approval, or even simple agreement, and he was most definitely not happy about the situation. 

Quite frankly, Kakashi did not consider himself to be good ‘sensei’ material. He had no experience with children past his own childhood, and he’d never really _been_ a child. Children were a responsibility he didn’t feel comfortable taking on. They needed careful guidance, support; they needed people who could help them. And Kakashi simply wasn’t qualified for that. 

Sasuke was already going to be one messed up kid; he didn’t need Kakashi adding to his troubles through sheer ineptitude. Not that his opinion mattered of course, since for some absurd reason, the Hokage had decided that Kakashi _would_ be that person. And when the Hokage decided something, it was absolute. 

The Hokage must have seen the desperation in Kakashi’s eye, and took pity on him. 

“You may present yourself to the mission desk for an assignment, but I want you to stay near the village until graduation. Dismissed.”

“Understood, Hokage-sama.” Kakashi bowed, and took his leave. He was so lost in thought that he never even realized he left by means of the door instead of the window, as per his custom.

.:.

Kakashi was bored.

Without the constant of ANBU missions, he didn’t know what to do with himself. Becoming a jounin-sensei was all well and good, but graduation wasn’t for another two months. And when one was accustomed to the fast pace of back to back mission that was akin to an eternity.

He needed something to occupy his time, and Ich-Icha just wasn’t going to cut it. As it was, he’d already re-read the series in its entirety. 

With that in mind, he made his way towards the mission room, nose buried behind his book to hide his somewhat devious smile. A nice A-rank should keep him occupied until graduation, as the Hokage had suggested, and then he’d have cute little genin to torment in preparation for the real world. Assuming they passed his test, of course. 

The Hokage may have surprised him with his decision, and Kakashi still wasn’t certain it was a wise one, but he would treat it as any other assignment and complete it to the best of his ability. And if he had a bit of fun doing it… well, no one need ever know. 

When he finally arrived to the mission room, his hand reflexively clenched around the Icha-Icha tomb as he momentarily froze by the door. 

The room was _outrageously_ crowded.

Obviously, he wasn’t the only one hoping to get a last minute mission before closing time. 

There were also those few foolish shinobi desperately trying to complete a mission report before the desk closed, leaving them with no choice but to collect their pay the next day.

Kakashi had never been in that position himself, having always ensured that his reports were in on time when he served under Minato-sensei, as his failures would reflect badly on his mentor. And then as ANBU, there had been no need; his reports were very rarely written down, and if so they were kept short and for the Hokage’s eyes only. 

With great reluctance, Kakashi joined one of the queues, hoping not to spend the rest of his day waiting in the presence of so many unknown people. ‘Ally’ meant very little to him, until he got to know the person in question personally. (Or at the very least, performed a thorough background check.)

He’d only ever taken a handful of missions as ‘Hatake Kakashi’ and not as ‘Hound’ over the years, leaving him with very little experience involving the mission room. But with Sandaime-sama’s decision to evict him from ANBU, he’d be seeing much more of it. He would just have to make sure to come in earlier, next time, when there would be less people. He would get used to the noise eventually if things were always this hectic. 

Kakashi tensed as a few rowdy chuunin behind him in the queue jostled him, and tightened his grip on the Icha-Icha Violence volume in his hand. Instincts honed over decades worked against him in that type of situation, reading ever twitch and sound as a threat. It was one of the (many) reasons why Kakashi made a point of avoiding crowded areas, preferring the relative anonymity of a nice branch somewhere and a good book. 

Thankfully, the line moved forwards at a good pace; the chuunin manning it was one he recognized.

Dark hair pulled in a messy ponytail on the top of his head, with a few loose strands falling in front of chocolate eyes, and a deep scar cutting across his nose which stretched from cheek to cheek. 

Umino Iruka.

Seventeen year old Chuunin, currently serving as an Assistant Instructor at the Academy under Chiyoko-sensei, in preparation for the older woman’s retirement. Graduated at eleven, but only became a chuunin at age sixteen. Unassuming and of ordinary talent, not seeking to advance past the rank of Academy Instructor. 

And more importantly, one of the reasons why Sandaime-sama had reached his decision about Kakashi’s tenure in ANBU when he did.

After all, if the chuunin hadn’t gotten himself so injured on a simple A-rank under Kakashi’s command, then Sandaime-sama probably wouldn’t have thought Kakashi to be overworked. Taping him as a Jounin-Sensei couldn’t be the only reason, not when Sasuke’s graduation was still a few years off, and when he really only needed a few pointers on Sharingan use Kakashi could reasonably provide without being his Sensei. 

Kakashi slouched lower, gaze fixed on his book as the line steadily moved forwards. Maybe he should change lines? It wouldn’t do to be rude simply because he’d worked himself up thinking about how the chuunin had added the last nail in Kakashi’s proverbial coffin of retirerement. After all, it wasn’t Iruka’s fault that he was untalented enough to fall for such a simple trap, it was just a bit of bad luck that he’d been assigned to Kakashi’s team.

By the time he made up his mind to change lines, it was too late to do anything; the chuunin was already turning towards him, a friendly smile firmly on his face. Kakashi tried not to grimace in response. 

“Ah, Kakashi-san, was it? Do you have a report to submit?” The chuunin seemed surprised yet somewhat please to see him. The feeling was far from mutual.

“No. I was hoping there would be a mission available.” Kakashi was hardly in the mood for small talk, and made no effort to hide it. The chuunin’s smile wavered slightly but didn’t slip completely. 

“It’s rather late for assignments but I’ll see what we have left,” he said, pleasantly enough. 

Kakashi’s nod was lost on the chuunin as he turned and leafed through the mission log book, mumbling under his breath all the while. 

“Let’s see,” he said, turning to face Kakashi once more, “there’s a long term A-rank no one’s claimed yet.” 

“No good. I need to be in the village for graduation.”

“Oh? Does Sandaime-sama want you to become a jounin-sensei, then?”

Kakashi nodded. Iruka may just be a chuunin, but he wouldn’t have made it past genin if he couldn’t figure out such a simple thing as that.

“I see. Well, there’s a C-rank escort mission that should only take a week, if you want that.”

“I’ll take it.” As dull as it was surely going to be, beggars couldn’t be choosers. And at this stage, Kakashi was truly desperate for something, _anything_ , to occupy his time. 

“Please come home safely, then!” Iruka exclaimed with a bright smile, handing him the appropriate mission scroll.

Kakashi tried not to scoff; as if something as routine as an escort mission would be enough to challenge him.

.:.

The mission was as dull as he had predicted, completed without a single hitch and well within the time limit.

Kakashi despaired.

He still had over a month to kill, and no ideas as to what he should do. He couldn’t just sit around re-reading Icha-Icha, his old squad was off on another long term mission, one could only spend so much time training, and even Gai was off on a mission.

So without any other options, Kakashi made his way back to the mission desk. It was still early, so there shouldn’t be too many missions already claimed, and more importantly, no throngs of people trying to hand in their reports right before closing time. Hopefully he’d have more luck as to the difficulty level, in any case. 

Iruka was the only one manning the mission desk that morning, as there were very few people milling about. 

“Come for another mission, Kakashi-san?”

Kakashi didn’t bother verbalizing his answer, giving the smiling chuunin the barest of nods instead. He was in a foul mood already, and hardly wanted to bother with social niceties. And certainly not with this man.

“Let’s see, I’m afraid the only missions left are all long term. Unless you want a D-rank, I have nothing for you,” Iruka said, with an apologetic look. 

Kakashi held back an aggravated sigh. Of course there was nothing to do, right when he needed the distraction the most.

“Why are you so desperate for a mission, if you don’t mind my asking? Wouldn’t your time be better spent preparing for your new students?”

“I realize that this concept might be difficult for you to grasp, but I’m not nearly so unskilled that I need a whole month to prepare myself for the great ordeal of being assigned three genin.”

“Excuse me?” Iruka asked through clenched teeth, smile gone. 

“Children are hardly difficult enough to manage that teaching them should weren’t more than a C rank. Maybe B if you factor in the fact that it’s so long term. That is, after all, the reason why only chuunin such as yourself become Academy instructors.”

“If it’s so terribly easy, then why don’t you try your hand at teaching over the next month?” The vein throbbing in Iruka’s forehead spoke volumes about his anger. Shinobi should never wear their emotions so plainly, Kakashi thought with disapproval. 

“Oh? And how would I go about that?” Kakashi asked, flippantly. 

“You can assist my class for a day - no, a _week_ – as a guest lecturer.”

Kakashi drew breath to refuse, but paused to consider it instead. He meant what he had said, saw no reason to prepare for three genin that may or may not pass his test, and yet… it would give his an opportunity to investigate his potential students, and more importantly, it would give him something to _do_. 

Iruka must have taken his hesitation to mean that Kakashi was regretting his words, judging by his expression and what he said next. 

“Unless, of course, you’re willing to admit right now that you were wrong about teaching.” As if Kakashi could do _that_. Not here, at least, not when he could feel the gaze of every shinobi in the room on them.

“I’ll do it. Better yet, I’ll teach your class for a full ten days.”

Kakashi turned and left without giving the chuunin time to answer, feeling rather satisfied with himself. The chuunin’s challenge would keep him occupied for good two weeks, more if Iruka proved to be entertaining, with the added benefit of letting him investigate his future students. 

He wondered briefly why he hadn’t considered the option earlier.

.:.

Teaching, as Kakashi soon learned, was not nearly as easy as it seemed. While Iruka made it look simple enough during attendance and the introductions… that all changed when he stepped back and gave Kakashi control of the classroom. There was a complete shift in the students’ demeanor; gone was the previous relaxed and somewhat sleepy atmosphere of an early morning, replaced with the static of too much pent up energy.

And then the questions started. They all clamored to be hear, speak over each other and getting louder every time, until the classroom was filled with unidentifiable yells. 

It was _dreadfull_.

Once some of the questions had been answered and the initial shock of having _the Copy-nin_ as an instructor wore off, he gained a smidge of the easy control Iruka had exhibited. He began the day in earnest with a brief recap of the previous day’s lesson on the history of the Fire Country. 

Kakashi mentally praised himself on his forethought, having snuck into Iruka’s apartment the night prior to glance at his lesson plans. The man in question seemed to realize what had happened almost immediately, and glared at Kakashi balefully. All the same, he didn’t protest, and Kakashi took that as a victory.

Of course, things only got worse as the day progressed. 

By mid-day, Kakashi had bits and pieces of torn paper in his hair as well as what he really hoped wasn’t dried snot on his shirt. (It totally was – the result of one little girl having her pig tails pulled and crying about it to him.)

With a relieved sigh, he dismissed the little demons for lunch, planning on using his thirty minutes of peace to regroup and plan an appropriate counter-strike. 

Simply showing up and having them memorize the chakra pathways of a human body and the ways of overtaxing them hadn’t been effective. The children had all reacted rather like puppies would, with no attention span worth mentioning and over-enthusiasm.

There was an idea.

They had several characteristics of puppies, so why not treat them like any other litter of pups in need of training?

With a relieved smile, Kakashi settled down to read for a few minutes and to get some fresh air, leaving Iruka to his own lunch break. Once the little brats returned, he’d bring them outside and all would be well.

Naturally, it didn’t go quite according to plan.

While the children were all suitably excited to be outside, and seemed eager enough to begin, not one of them listened to his instructions long enough to perform the exercise to his satisfaction. 

Kakashi was starting to lose patience with the lot of them, ears ringing from all the noise. Iruka’s increasingly smug glances weren’t helping. 

And then he had a _brilliant_ idea.

Like with puppies, dangling a treat in front of them ought to do the trick…

Kakashi smiled and called for attention, undeterred by the fact that even that took more effort than it ought to.

.:.

As it turned out, giving thirty pre-genin access to pointy objects and teaching them to use said object to kill was very much Not a Good Idea.

Which is no doubt what Iruka would have told him, had he not been distracted by a suspicious looking canine wreaking havoc in the classroom. As it was, Iruka arrived just in time to prevent two students from injuring themselves, and another from stabbing _Kakashi_. How that particular incident had come to pass, he couldn’t fathom. 

Thankfully, the day was just about over by then, and Kakashi only had to endure Iruka’s glare for the ten minutes it took to inform the children what they would be covering the next day and what they should study in preparation. He dismissed them all with barely concealed glee, and fled before Iruka’s Killing Intent could become a nuisance. 

Kakashi was starting to think that the whole thing hadn’t been such a great idea, after all.

.:.

The second and third days passed in much the same fashion, with Kakashi discovering new and increasingly desperate ways of keeping the little monsters entertained.

Iruka had yelled at him the morning after the Kunai Incident, so weapons were out of the question. Kakashi hadn’t paid much attention to the rant past the initial few minutes, but he had to admit that he found the whole thing somewhat amazing. 

Those who could disregard rank so completely and yell at a superior officer were far and few between. It was foolish and rude; but the bravery it took was impressive, and not something he would have expected from Iruka. The chuunin had maintained a mostly polite demeanor throughout the incident in the mission room, and during all of their other interactions, so to see him unleash his fury on Kakashi was impressive. 

That said, the fact that he wasn’t afraid of expressing his displeasure was making Kakashi’s life more difficult; the man had practically glued himself to Kakashi’s side form then on. It wasn’t until the fourth day, when the pranks began, that Kakashi saw the benefits from such an arrangement. 

The perpetrators started off with a few simple ones, all classics without much thought behind them and all laughably easy to either dismantle or avoided. Or, on a few occasions, Kakashi sidestepped and left Iruka to take the brunt of the punishment. The man’s reactions ranged from indignant to tolerantly amused, but they were always, _always_ , loud and entertaining. 

But even Kakashi couldn’t avoid _everything_. The only prank to successfully target him was the most elaborate thing the children had managed to pull off, catching him off guard during the last few minutes before the end of the day, when he could barely contain his excitement at sending them _away_. 

How thirty pre-genin had managed to trap _him_ with something so obvious was nothing short astounding. He had to give them points for pulling it off, if nothing else. The devious little things weren’t all going to be useless in the field, it seemed.

That said, he would need to retaliate tomorrow, to stress the importance of never telling anyone about it, ever. He wasn’t expecting success, but a man could certainly hope. No jounin wanted to admit to being strung up to the ceiling by a class of children with nothing but some ninja wire, a great deal of chewing gum, and a few office supplies. Not to mention the bucket of purple paint they added to the mix. His friends would never let him live the whole thing down, let alone forget it. 

Kakashi mused about the meaning of life and revenge as he swayed from the ceiling like a demented piñata, trying not to listen as the laughing children filtered beneath him to get to the door, many of which did so with a parting quip or jib. Kakashi hear the door close behind the last child and began wondering how he would free himself. The ninja wire was wrapped awkwardly around his legs and torso, keeping his arms pinned to his sides. If he swung over a bit he might be able to reach the base, and dislodge it, sending him crashing to the floor…

“You know, you’re actually doing better than I expected.” 

Kakashi hummed in response, glancing down at Iruka. The man was directly below him, smiling face turned upwards. It was surprisingly hard to recall the resentment Kakashi would have - had - felt not a week prior at such a sight. Watching Iruka interact with the children, with the other staff, and with Kakashi himself had changed his opinion of the man. 

“I wanted to apologize.” The words were said without conscious thought on his part. 

Iruka blinked in surprise, before moving out of Kakashi’s limited field of vision, presumably to begin cleaning up the room and preparing to leave. Or if he was feeling particularly charitable, maybe to untangle the mess of wires keeping Kakashi captive. 

“What for?”

“For implying that as a chuunin you are an inferior class of ninja.”

“Thank you for reminding me,” Iruka said, the sound of his teeth grinding accompanying his terse words. Kakashi pressed on, undeterred. If he was going to apologize, then he may as well do it correctly. 

“I only said what I did because I was resentful due to a sudden change in my situation, which I held you responsible for; I never really meant it.”

“I mean it even less now that I know what teaching is really like,” Kakashi added after a few moments of silence, with a wry smile. 

The silence stretched almost uncomfortably, and Kakashi began to wonder if Iruka had actually abandoned him to his fate, had still been angry enough to reject the apology outright.

Then, with a jolt, he was falling towards the ground. He landed in a tangle of limbs with a pained grunt, rolling onto his back instead of bothering with standing. Gravity could go hang itself while the blood rushed from his head back to his extremities. He absentmindedly picked at piece of gum in his hair as he waited for the world to stop spinning, wondering if he was going to have to cut his hair to get it all out. He rather hoped not. 

With a huffed laugh, Iruka dropped down beside him, reaching out to stop Kakashi from fiddling with the mess that was his hair. 

“Apology accepted,” he finally said, with a bright smile. 

Kakashi smiled back, eye creasing happily.

**Author's Note:**

> Remember to leave a comment below, or at the [LJ post](http://kakairu-fest.livejournal.com/129515.html?mode=reply#add_comment)!


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